MOSCOW. Sept 25 (Interfax) - The Russian Pacific Fleet's Finval 2023 tactical exercise has ended in northeastern Russia, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday.
"The exercise practiced missile strikes on groups of mock enemy ships and included artillery, air defense, anti-submarine and anti-sabotage drills," the ministry said.
It involved "around 10,000 troops and over 50 pieces of hardware, including surface ships, supply vessels, submarines, marine aviation planes and helicopters, and Bal and Bastion coastal missile systems," the ministry said.
All episodes of the exercise "were defensive, and aimed to upgrade the skills of forces in operations on the northeastern borders of Russia," it said.
Russian Navy Commander Nikolai Yevmenov supervised the exercise.
The security of the Arctic and protection of the Northern Sea Route as a key transport corridor are a priority, Yevmenov said.
"It's not for nothing that the Arctic is called the world's storehouse in terms of the amount of energy and mineral reserves [it has]. Our key task is to ensure Russia's safe economic operations in this area. So, we'll continue to hold such exercises on a regular basis. We have enough forces and hardware to do that," the ministry quoted Yevmenov as saying.